Wednesday was load-out day for the teams of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship who’ll take part in Saturday’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring; it was also the opening day of practice for the many IMSA-sanctioned support series on what was an unseasonably – yet refreshingly – cool day at Sebring International Raceway.
The less said about Team DSC’s weather-affected delays on the way into Highlands County, Florida, the better.
New rides, new looks for Sebring
Pfaff Motorsports got to roll out its new car, the #9 Lamborghini Temerario GT3, for the first time this morning.
It’s as good looking in person as it was in photographs when the car was presented in the traditional plaid Pfaff Motorsports livery earlier this week.
Porsche Penske Motorsport’s special livery, celebrating the 30th anniversary of Porsche and Mobil 1’s collaboration and the Porsche 911 GT1, was unveiled earlier today.
It took a bit of time but eventually both cars came out of the Penske hauler, ready to defend their Twelve Hours of Sebring victory from a year ago.
Theirs wasn’t the only new-look Porsche 963 to make its first appearance, as JDC-Miller MotorSports brought its Mustang Sampling-sponsored #5 car to the track for the first time since it gained its familiar sponsor and changed numbers.
The team from Minnesota is also with its #79 ORECA 07-Gibson LMP2; Gerry Kraut and Josh Burdon return to IMSA, while past FIA British F4 Championship and British GT Championship runner-up Sennan Fielding makes his series debut.
Over in GTD Pro we got our first looks at the star-spangled specials from Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports. The two Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs have ditched the Millenium Yellow in favour of red, white, and blue with 50 stars down the front.
And Roxy is back, filling in for her brother Rexy within AO Racing. Sebring marks three years since Rexy’s debut in IMSA, which later spawned Roxy and eventually Spike the Dragon in LMP2.
And a new bridge!
Ahead of this week’s festivities, Sebring International Raceway recently opened a brand new pedestrian bridge over the Ullmann Straight between turns 16 (Le Mans Corner) and 17 (Sunset Bend). Michelin and American online tyre retailer TireRack.com co-sponsor the new bridge.
“The addition of the new TireRack.com / Michelin Bridge is a tremendous enhancement for everyone who comes to Sebring,” said newly-appointed Sebring International Raceway President and General Manager, Matt Muha. “This bridge will provide fans and participants with greatly improved access to the parking areas and amenities along the Ulmann Straight, making it easier than ever to move around the facility on our busiest weekends given the ongoing growth of our marquee event.
“Just as importantly, it opens the door to brand‑new vantage points – such as a new viewing mound at Turn 16, new camping opportunities, and fresh perspectives of the on‑track action that we know our fans are going to love.”
Until this year, anyone wishing to cross the Ullmann Straight from the adjacent parking lot would have either had to walk around Sunset Bend or cross the course when cars were not on track.
Pilot Challenge: Leist, Girolami lead first practice
The Michelin Pilot Challenge series’ second round is the Alan Jay Automotive Network 120 on Friday. 49 cars were on the official pre-race entry list, two away from the high mark set at Daytona last round (51). This includes Rebel Rock Racing’s #71 Aston Martin Vantage GT4 Evo which won the opening round at Sebring.
In that first practice session, Matheus Leist set a 2:09.622 in the #7 VPX Motorsport Porsche 718 GT4 RS Clubsport, leading a Porsche 1-2 in the GS class over the #2 CSM Porsche, second-fastest in the hands of Morgan Burkhard.
Jaxon Bell, son of Townsend, was third-fastest in the #23 Koch-Copeland Motorsports Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2, then Spencer Pumpelly in the #83 BGB Motorsport Porsche put three of the marque’s cars inside the top four.
Argentine driver Franco Girolami went quickest in TCR aboard the #99 Victor Gonzalez Racing Cupra León VZ TCR (2:12.205), beating the #93 MMG Honda Civic FL5 TCR of Louis-Philippe Montour by almost half a second.
Porsche Carrera Cup, Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America begin 2026
Along with Mustang Challenge North America, the domestic editions of Porsche Carrera Cup and Lamborghini Super Trofeo begin their 2026 seasons at Sebring this weekend. Of note, Porsche Carrera Cup North America begins its first season with the newest-generation of Porsche 911 Cup, and its first season with Pirelli tyres. Meanwhile, Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America will use the existing Huracán for what is expected to be the last season.
TR3 Racing’s orange #29 Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo driven by Will Bamber and Elias de la Torre led across both of its series’ practice sessions. Bamber set a 2:00.599 in the second practice session, which was eight milliseconds quicker than Danny Formal’s best in the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Lamborghini.
2025 champions Formal and Hampus Ericsson were split up this year: Formal is now in the Pro-Am class #10 car, while Ericsson stays in the Pro #1 WTR entry co-piloted by Nick Persing. Ericsson set the third-fastest lap overall, leading the morning practice session.
Johan Schwartz (#89 89x Motorsports Lamborghini) was the quickest driver throughout in Am, and Rocky T. Bolduc (#99 Topp Racing Lamborghini) led the LB Cup class.
LAMBORGHINI COMBINED PRACTICE RESULTS >>>
Setting the pace in Porsche Carrera Cup North America was Topp Racing’s Tyler Maxson in the new #77 Porsche 911 Cup, setting a 2:00.775. He surpassed the best time of Aaron Jeansonne (#24 Kellymoss Porsche) by nearly three-tenths.
Jared Thomas (#96 JTR Motorsports Engineering Porsche) was third-quickest today and led the opening session with his 2:01.076.
Patrick Mulcahy (#54 ACI Motorsports Porsche) led Pro-Am, while returning Masters champion Scott Blind (#45 Ruckus Racing) led his class.
PORSCHE COMBINED PRACTICE RESULTS >>>
All three IMSA one-make series run their first races tomorrow, which will be streamed on the official IMSA YouTube channel.
Images © Jack Webster / dailysportscar.com; additional images © IMSA
